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Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings 1948-49

The Stanley Cup is one of the most-recognized symbols in North American sports. It is the championship trophy of the NHL, National Hockey League which is won by one of the teams that have qualified for the championship finals after playing a series of playoff matches. It is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff engraved upon it. The Cup winners keep it until the new champion is crowned.

The 1948-49 Stanley Cup Finals had a familiar feel as the Leafs and Wings again faced off against one another. Each team slightly retooled its roster from the year before, and Detroit surged to the regular-season title. Detroit's so called Production Line of Ted Lindsay, Gordie Howe and Sid Abel led the Red Wings to a 34-19-7 mark. The Bruins finished with the second best mark in the league and were the Maple Leafs' playoff opponent. Toronto had a relative easy time of things, winning in five games. The Red Wings, though, had a grueling seven-game series against Montreal. Game 1 of the series went to triple overtime and Game 2 was an overtime affair. In Game 7, Detroit won its home ice by a 3-1 count to earn a return trip to the finals.

The weary Red Wings lost Game 1 in overtime, as Joe Klukay scored the game-winner for Toronto. Sid Smith recorded a hat trick in Game 2 as Toronto won 3-1. The Maple Leafs won by that same score in Games 3 and 4 to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup titles. This match between Toronto Maple Leafs versus Detroit Red Wings is known to be one of the best matches in the history of hockey, to be ever played, in which sheer determination, fighting spirit and clean game could be seen throughout the game. Young spectators had a lot to learn from this game, in which they experienced the exhibition of various game strategies and tricks.

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